Downward Spiral
by Spiritwolfie333
Summary: Sans takes his alcoholism too far, driving Papyrus to put his trust in the wrong monster. (Sans X Papyrus) (Papyrus X Flowey)
1. Sans' Drinking Will KETCHUP to Him

**Papyrus' POV**

Orange beads of perspiration collected at Papyrus' temporal bone as he furiously beat his spaghetti noodles into submission with a wooden spoon. Smoke clouded around his face, and a bitter, burning stench filled the kitchen. This obviously meant that everything was going perfectly! This would surely be his best batch of spaghetti yet!

...If only Sans were there to enjoy it with him.

Somewhere along the line, Papyrus' feelings for his brother had... changed. He found himself blushing whenever Sans carelessly threw an arm around him, and his SOUL would stutter whenever Sans flashed him one of his rare, _genuine_ smiles, the ones that didn't come from puns or whoopee cushions, but true happiness.

Something had changed in Sans as well, but... not in a good way. Those already-rare happy smiles of his had become even more elusive, and he stayed at Grillby's later than ever, coming home drunk at least three nights out of every week.

It worried Papyrus sick, and it was working him down to his last nerve.

Only a second after Papyrus turned the oven off and moved the smoking, hissing pot of spaghetti to a separate burner, the front door opened with a soft _'click'_ , and Sans stumbled into the living room, his eye lights hazy and unfocused.

Before Papyrus could turn his head to lecture his brother, he felt two arms around his waist. "S-SANS?" He squawked, orange magic flooding to his cheekbones. "WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?"

"*hehe... papy..." Sans giggled. He hiccuped softly and nuzzled his head against Papyrus' spine. "*we should... should make out. lemme bone ya, papppppps-!" He slurred.

Papyrus' blushed darkened, this time from anger rather than embarrassment. There was no way Sans could possibly know about Papyrus' feelings for him, but he still felt like he was being mocked. And to make such obscene comments... how _dare_ he?

Papyrus whirled around and shoved Sans off of him roughly, sending the shorter skeleton stumbling backwards. "GET OFF OF ME, YOU HOPELESS ALCOHOLIC! AND STOP MAKING SUCH DISGUSTING COMMENTS!" He barked, sharply turning back to his spaghetti.

Papyrus heard a low growl sound from behind him. A moment later, something hard and heavy collided with the back of his skull, and the tall skeleton let out a grunt of agony as stars danced before his eye sockets.

The pain began to diminish after a few moments, and Papyrus groaned, rubbing the back of his skull with a gloved hand. After checking his stats, he quickly deduced that he had only lost five HP. A discarded bone attack lay a few feet away, a crack in the base of it. Papyrus' eye sockets widened.

Sans had attacked him.

Papyrus swiveled his body around to face his brother, silently hoping his fear wasn't showing on his face.

"*don't f-ckin' call me an alcoholic, you ungrateful..." Sans hiccuped. "*...dingus..."

Sans' right eye socket glowed a glaring cyan in the darkness of their home, and Papyrus felt panic grip his SOUL in a choke hold.

Sans' famous "terrifying blue eye" had made an appearance several times when he was defending Papyrus, whether it be from childhood bullies, or greasy predators who tried to sneak unsafe substances into Papyrus' milkshakes at Grillby's. Papyrus knew very well what that eye meant.

But it had never been directed at _him_ before.

Taking advantage of Sans' lack of coordination, Papyrus lifted his hand into the air, and Sans dropped to the floor, writhing desperately. His SOUL had darkened from its usual cyan hue, to a much darker blue shade.

"N-NYEHEH! YOU'RE BLUE NOW!" Papyrus shouted. He leaped over the drunken heap that was his brother and bounded up the stairs to his room, only releasing Sans from the Blue Attack after his door had been safely locked.

Something heavy slammed clumsily against the door.

Papyrus gasped sharply and hurriedly pressed his spine against the door, pushing against the persistent force of his brother with all of his might. The pounding continued, and Papyrus pulled his knees to his chest, silently hoping that this terrible evening would be over soon.


	2. In Which Sans is Thoroughly BONED

Immediately after Sans had been stirred from the realm of unconsciousness, he was greeted by a merciless pounding in his skull. Yep, he was definitely hungover. Groaning softly, he rolled over, hoping to prolong the act of opening his eyes for as long as possible.

Sans suddenly stiffened. His mattress felt strange... unfamiliar; not at all like a mattress. It felt more like a carpet.

Sans forced himself to crack open his sockets, cringing against the wave of pain the action brought to his skull, and looked around.

He was laying in the middle of the upstairs hallway, between his room and Papyrus'.

 _Papyrus!_

Memories of the previous evening came flooding back to Sans in a vicious tidal wave.

Stumbling inside drunkenly. Hugging Papyrus and slurring out inappropriate comments. Papyrus shoving him. Hitting Papyrus with a bone attack. Papyrus staring at him with fear in his eyes that Sans never wanted him to feel. Papyrus putting him under the Blue Attack. Papyrus locking himself in his room. Slamming himself into Papyrus' bedroom door for Asgore- _knows_ how long. Finally giving up, and stumbling towards his room. Passing out in the middle of the hallway.

"*holy _sh-t_." Sans breathed, dawning horror fluttering in his SOUL. He had to apologize.

"*paps!" Sans shouted hoarsely, stumbling to Papyrus' door. "*l-look, man, I know you're probably really angry with me, and you got every right to be, but I really gotta talk to you!"

A few beats of silence passed. No answer sounded from the other side of the door.

"* _please_ , papy, i'm beggin' ya-!" Sans' jiggled the doorknob desperately.

He hadn't expected it to actually work, but oddly enough, the door slowly opened with a low _'creeeeaaaak...'_

Immediately on edge, Sans shuffled inside and flipped on the light switch.

Papyrus wasn't there. His bed was neatly made, and everything almost looked normal. _Almost._

Sans' eye lights flickered to Papyrus' open closet, and his SOUL stuttered with fear. It was completely empty. Papyrus had always kept a suitcase at the bottom of his closet, in case they ever decided to go on vacation. He had never used it before, and it was gone.

Sans wandered over to Papyrus' desk on shaky legs, and lifted up his MTT-themed monster bank. He shook it around experimentally. No sound came from the bank.

Sans felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his ribcage. Only a few days before, that bank had been full of gold that Papyrus had earned from his job as a sentry.

Sans sprinted down the stairs faster than he had in years, too panicked to even think of teleporting, noting vaguely that his pet rock was missing.

Sans stormed into the kitchen and yanked the refrigerator door open.

Every last tupperware container of leftover spaghetti had been taken. Sans emitted a low moan of terror as the reason behind his fears was immediately affirmed.

Papyrus had run away.


	3. Doubt BLOSSOMS in Papyrus' Mind

**Papyrus' POV**

Inside the Snowdin Inn, Papyrus sat on the edge of his tiny, neatly-made bed, his skull resting in his hands. Unwanted memories of the previous day swirled around in his skull, and he feverishly struggled to sort out his thoughts.

 _After spending about a half hour barricaded in his room, Sans' insistent pounding had finally ceased. Papyrus had listened as the shuffling sound of his brother's dragging footsteps faded out of his range of hearing. He had waited another silent, fear-filled hour to enact his plan._

 _Papyrus had never been more quiet in his life. By the time he had gotten all of his things packed, it was about a quarter to three in the morning._

 _He was halfway out the door when he paused, hesitating in the doorway._

 _He remembered reentering the kitchen and snatching their pet rock off the counter._

 _He didn't trust Sans to take care of it anymore._

Papyrus shifted his finger to allow himself partial view of the alarm clock. He groaned. He felt physically and emotionally drained and it was barely seven in the morning.

He needed to distract himself. He was positive he'd go insane if he spent another minute brooding about what had happened.

 _'I SHOULD VISIT UNDYNE! SHE ALWAYS CHEERS ME UP!'_ Papyrus thought to himself, but he dismissed the idea just as soon as it had come.

Papyrus was smarter than most monsters gave him credit for. He knew that once Sans realized he was missing, Undyne's house was the first place the shorter skeleton would go to look for him. That was the reason why he had booked a room at the Inn rather than crashing at his best friend's place.

By extension, this meant that the entirety of Waterfall was off limits. He couldn't take any chances.

Papyrus heaved a disappointed sigh. He supposed he could wander around near the Ruins for a while.

He brightened slightly at the idea. That didn't sound so bad! He rarely visited the Ruins anyway, so Sans probably wouldn't think to look for him there, which was an added bonus.

 _'NYEHEHE! ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE GREAT AND INTELLIGENT PAPYRUS!'_ Papyrus congratulated himself cheerily.

Papyrus stood and strolled out of his room, down the stairs, and out of the Inn, his tattered scarf fluttering behind him like a tiny, majestic cape. He beamed at anyone who passed him by as he marched through the snow.

He reached the Ruins fairly quickly. Spotting a broken branch a few feet away, he snatched it up off of the ground and jabbed it forward, as if it were a sword. "NYEH!"

Twenty minutes passed, and Papyrus became so absorbed in his little game of make-believe swordsman and dramatic poses that he didn't see a small, yellow flower rise up from one of the sparse sprigs of grass amidst all of the snow.

"Howdy!"

"NYEH!"

Papyrus jerked forward violently, his SOUL pounding in his chest, and whirled around to face the source of the noise.

A little flower with petals the color of sunshine beamed up at him, blinking amicably. "I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!"

 **Flowey's POV**

Flowey peered up at the massive skeleton with wide, trusting eyes, easily masking the curiosity that brewed and bubbled inside him. There had been so many resets that there was barely anything to distinguish them from one another anymore. He was always trying new ways to manipulate monsters; they were mere puppets in his metaphorical hands, and watching as they fell apart and put themselves back together in an entirely different way had so much potential for entertainment.

But some monsters weren't flexible at all, and the same old reactions and emotions from particular people quickly became just as boring as everything else in the hellish time loop they were trapped in. Anything fresh and new only came with Flowey's intervention.

But this? This was new! Papyrus never came to the Ruins unless Smiley Trashbag was "patrolling" there. Additionally, it was midweek, so by all accounts, Papyrus should have been training at Undyne's house.

Flowey hadn't caused this! Something new and never-seen-before had occured all on its own, and the endless possibilities for this run made Flowey's stem tingle with excitement.

Breaking himself from his thoughts, Flowey watched as Papyrus let out a shaky, relieved breath, and dropped his stick on the snowy floor of the Ruins. A toothy smile slowly spread across the skeleton's face, and he knelt down onto the ground, so he could interact with the little flower without dwarfing him with his seven feet of height.

"HELLO, FLOWEY! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! IT IS VERY NICE TO MEET YOU!"

Flowey grinned and swayed back and forth. "Golly, Papyrus, you looked really cool when you were striking all of those poses and jousting with that stick! All you need is some armor and a sword, and you'd practically be a Royal Guardsman!" He commented jovially.

The way to Papyrus' heart was through his ego; Flowey had learned this long ago.

Papyrus gasped loudly and slapped his gloved hands to his cheekbones, his sockets shimmering and dewy. "WOWIE, REALLY? THAT'S GREAT, BECAUSE I'M ACTUALLY A ROYAL-GUARD-IN-TRAINING! I'M BEING TRAINED BY THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD HERSELF!" He exclaimed, his voice positively shining with pride.

Flowey nodded his head absently. He had been Papyrus' friend reset after reset, and he had listened to the skeleton's incessant rambings about the Royal Guard so many times that the mere mention of Guard training made the flower reel with boredom.

Flowey kept his smile plastered to his face and forced himself to appear interested. "That's amazing, Papyrus!" The golden flower ducked his head bashfully, allowing a shy expression to cross his face. "I don't mean to pry, but if you're training with Captain Undyne, shouldn't you be in training right about now? It's a beautiful day!" He tilted his head curiously.

The Underground didn't actually have weather, so every day was pretty much the same, but every ounce of optimism counted when dealing with an idiot like Papyrus.

Papyrus' smile dimmed slightly. "OH... ERM, YES, ABOUT THAT..." He fidgeted uncomfortably.

Flowey's face adopted a sympathetic expression. "Aww, Papyrus! You can tell me anything! That's what friends are for, right?"

Papyrus perked up immediately, his eye sockets twinkling gleefully. "FRIENDS?" He parroted, and Flowey grinned inwardly. Under that thick mask of boundless energy, optimism, and confidence, he knew that Papyrus suffered from chronic loneliness. All he ever needed to do was offer the tall monster his friendship, and he was putty in Flowey's opposable leaves.

Flowey watched with satifaction and a sense of effortlessness as Papyrus wrung his hands bashfully. "W-WELL, IF WE ARE FRIENDS NOW, THEN I SUPPOSE I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED..." he began. Flowey noted how Papyrus' broad shoulders sagged ever so slightly.

Flowey listened with genuine interest as Papyrus recounted his experience. By the time he had finished, his smile had completely vanished, his posture was slumped, and Flowey took notice of the shadows under Papyrus' eye sockets. He hadn't seen those before.

Flowey's mind reeled with the weight of this new information. So... Trashbag, who usually had a disgustingly loving and protective attitude towards his brother, had cursed at Papyrus, and physically wounded him?

 _Wow!_ The run had barely even started, and Flowey already had so much to work with! The possibilities were _endless!_

Papyrus was quite the spontaneous individual, but one quality about him that remained frustratingly stagnant was his undying love and loyalty for his brother. The idiot believed every word out of Sans' mouth, blissfully unaware of the lies that lazy bag of bones was feeding him. That was an excellent place to start- turning Papyrus against his brother!

Asgore only _knew_ what would happen if Papyrus learned about all of his brother's cover-ups. Plus, losing his brother's trust would absolutely _slaughter_ Trashbag on the inside. That was an added bonus.

"Golly, Papyrus, that sounds just _awful!_ " Flowey moaned sympathetically, his petals drooping slightly for effect. "I hate to imagine you in such a _dangerous_ situation! What are you going to do now?"

"WELL," Papyrus began, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "IT WILL TAKE SANS A LITTLE WHILE TO FIGURE OUT THAT I AM STAYING AT THE INN, SO THAT WILL BUY ME SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT MY NEXT COURSE OF ACTION, AND-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Papyrus," Flowey cut his bony friend off, a pitying, amused sort of smile twitching onto his face. "But stale spaghetti and a monster bank can only get you so far. Eventually, you'll have to return home."

Papyrus grimaced, and Flowey got the feeling that this was something Papyrus knew but didn't want to think about.

"What are you going to do then, Papyrus?" Flowey inquired, tilting his head. "You'll have to face your brother sooner or later. You should really come up with a plan for when that happens. You wouldn't want him to catch you off guard!"

Papyrus' face brightened a bit. "THAT'S A GREAT IDEA, FLOWEY! GOSH, I DIDN'T EVEN THINK OF THAT! AND I'M USUALLY SO PREPARED..." he trailed off. He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts and thrust his index finger into the air. "BY GOSH, I'VE GOT IT!" He snapped his fingers.

Flowey listened patiently.

"I'LL TELL SANS THAT... THAT I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN HIM, BUT I BELIEVE THAT HE CAN DO BETTER! AND I'LL MAKE HIM PROMISE NEVER TO GET THAT INTOXICATED EVER AGAIN!" Papyrus declared, and it took a valiant effort on Flowey's part not to roll his eyes.

In some ways, Papyrus was more predictable than anyone.

Flowey forced himself to smile sadly at his beloved puppet. "Papyrus... have you made him promise things like this before?" He asked gently.

"W-WELL, YES." Papyrus stammered, anxiously averting his eyes.

"And has he ever kept those promises?" Flowey pressed kindly.

"...No." Papyrus whispered, bowing his head dejectedly.

If Flowey had any real emotions left in him, he might actually feel bad for Papyrus. Instead, he felt a mild sort of amusement.

"Awww, don't be sad, Papyrus!" Flowey chirped brightly. "I know just the thing that will make Sans really listen to you! Golly, I bet he'll never touch a bottle again if you do it!"

Papyrus visibly perked up after hearing Flowey's words. "REALLY? YOU DO? OH, PLEASE TELL ME!" The skeleton begged, clasping his gloved hands together.

Flowey made a show of looking furtively to the left, then to the right. Finally, he pivoted forward on his stem. Papyrus hurriedly leaned forward, his eye sockets wide and eager.

"Stop trusting him." Flowey instructed slowly. Shadows fell over his face, making him look a bit more menacing. "Don't tell him how your day was. Don't let him perform any tasks of importance. Don't believe him when he tells you he's not going out to get hammered, because you know he is. Don't confide in him your fears, secrets, or insecurities. And don't give him any. Second. Chances." Flowey growled gravely, watching as Papyrus' smile fell with every cryptic word he spoke.

"BUT..." Papyrus protested with a weak whisper. "BUT EVERYBODY DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE! AND SANS IS MY BROTHER!"

"Exactly, Papyrus! He's your _brother._ " Flowey replied with a slow nod, as if he were speaking to a particularly slow five-year-old. "What kind of _brother_ breaks his promises repeatedly when he knows how important they are to you?"

"WELL-"

" _What kind of brother-_ " Flowey thrust his face closer to Papyrus, easily speaking over the uncertain skeleton. "-would take advantage of your forgiving nature?"

Papyrus recoiled, clearly affronted by Flowey's accusations against his brother. "SANS HAS NEVER TAKEN ADVANTAGE-!"

"He's burned through every chance that you've given him to stop drinking, and breaks promise after promise." Flowey deadpanned, idly flicking his leaf free of frost. He glanced up at his skeleton friend and smiled nervously. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but is your brother a short skeleton in a blue jacket?"

Papyrus blinked and sat a bit straighter. "Y-YEAH! HOW DID YOU KNOW?"

Flowey giggled quietly, pressing one of his leaves to his smiling mouth. "Well, gee, you two are the only skeletons around! It wasn't hard to figure out!" His smile became a bit strained. "I've seen him around Snowdin before, and he seems... quite lazy..." Flowey watched closely for Papyrus' reaction. He knew exactly who Sans was, but Papyrus thought that this was the first time he had ever met Flowey. Flowey had to play dumb, otherwise Papyrus would start asking awkward questions.

Papyrus let out a frustrated screech and threw his head back, his shoulders slumping. "EUGH, DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED! HE NEVER CLEANS UP AFTER HIMSELF, HE'S ALWAYS ABANDONING HIS SENTRY POST, AND HIS PERSONAL HYGIENE IS SIMPLY ATROCIOUS!" He ranted irritably. "I TELL HIM TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO-"

"So you ask him constantly to change his ways and start paying more respect to his responsibilities," Flowey interrupted. "And he never bothers to change? Even after all of the chances you've given him? Even if his current lifestyle is hurting _you_ , his _dear_ brother?" Flowey rose his eyebrows at his friend. "Isn't this starting to sound familiar?"

Flowey's words must have struck a chord within Papyrus, because his skeleton friend hung his head and wrapped his arms comfortingly around himself. "WELL... WHEN YOU... WHEN YOU PUT IT THAT WAY... I..." Papyrus sighed and buried his skeletal face in his hands.

Flowey opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it when Papyrus' head snapped upward from his palms. Subtle tremors wracked his shoulders, and his wide, saddened sockets made him look so _lost_.

"YOU KNOW, FLOWEY," Papyrus began shakily. "WHEN YOU TOLD ME TO STOP TRUSTING MY BROTHER, I... THE THOUGHT WAS UNFATHOMABLE TO ME, BUT NOW-" he sighed despondently. "I DON'T KNOW IF I _CAN_ TRUST HIM, AFTER YESTERDAY!" He squeezed his eye sockets shut. "I'VE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE, AND THAT ANYONE CAN CHANGE TO BE A BETTER PERSON! BUT WHAT'S THE POINT OF GIVING OUT CHANCE AFTER CHANCE IF THE PERSON IN QUESTION REFUSES TO MAKE AN _EFFORT?_ " His voice hardened with anger, and Flowey bobbed excitedly on his stem.

Golly, he had struck _gold!_

"I JUST..." Papyrus visibly deflated. "I CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL GUILTY...? HE'S STILL MY BROTHER, AND-"

"Awww, Papyrus!" Flowey rose out of the ground a few inches and gingerly stroked the top of Papyrus' skull with his leaf. "It doesn't have to be forever! Once Sans sees that he's lost your trust, he might try to earn it back! He might finally stop drinking, once he sees that you mean business!" The golden blossom smiled warmly at his gentle giant of a friend. "And as Sans' behavior improves, you can slowly return more and more of your trust to him, until eventually, you both solve your problems!" Flowey clapped his leaves together jovially. "It might even bring you two closer together!"

Of course, Flowey wasn't _really_ going to let that happen. Happy endings were so _boring!_ He just needed to sell Papyrus on his optimism and glittering generalities before the _real_ fun could begin.

Papyrus nodded slowly, looking a bit more hopeful than before. "THAT... MAKES SENSE! THANK YOU SO MUCH, MY NEW FLOWER FRIEND! YOU'VE GIVEN ME BRILLIANT ADVICE!" The massive skeleton jumped to his feet and beamed down at Flowey. "I AM AFRAID I MUST GO. I HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN SOON, FLOWEY!" Papyrus winked down at his friend, before turning and jogging back in the direction of Snowdin town.

Flowey let a cunning smirk darken his features, and his petals curled around him as he snickered wickedly. Papyrus was playing right into his trap.

This should be an interesting run.


	4. Papyrus Offers SNOW Forgiveness

**Sans' POV**

"*has another skeleton bought a room here?" Sans demanded, wasting no time with greetings as he gripped the Innkeeper's front desk with his phalanges. "*a really tall skeleton? wearing a red scarf and a super hero costume?"

Despite his earlier panic, Sans had thought that finding Papyrus would be an easy task. He thought that all he'd have to do was pop over to Undyne's place, and he'd find his little brother burning down the kitchen with his best friend. But that hadn't been the case.

 _"*yo, undyne." Sans greeted when the amphibian monster opened the door. "*can i come in? i gotta speak to papyrus. it's kind of an emergency."_

 _Undyne blinked in surprise. Then, she fixed Sans with a confused and suspicious glare, and Sans felt his SOUL constrict with anxiety._

 _"Papyrus isn't here. I haven't seen him since we last trained, two days ago."_

 _"*sh-t." Sans cursed under his breath, and Undyne narrowed her eyes, her pupils shrinking with barely-concealed fury._

 _"Are you telling me," she growled dangerously. "That Papyrus is missing?"_

 _"*yes, undyne, that is exactly what i'm telling you." Sans replied impatiently, watching with disinterest as the fish woman reseased an outraged "NGAHHHH!" and suplexed her kitchen table. Undyne's fury was terrifying to all who witnessed it, but in that moment, Sans only saw it as an annoyance. Losing his brother was eons more horrifying than anything Undyne could do. "*he ran away last night, and i'm trying to find him so we can patch things up. i thought he'd come and crash with you, but obviously, i was wrong. do you know of anywhere else he might have gone?"_

 _Undyne's head snapped up, her yellow eye wide, and a vein twitching in her scaly neck. "No, but I know where he isn't! He's not staying at Alphys' place, otherwise, she would have told me, so we could all hang out together!"_

 _Sans heaved a sigh of disappointment. It was better than nothing, he supposed. "*ok, thanks, undyne. i'll let ya know if i find him."_

 _"You BETTER, Punk!" Undyne snarled. "If you don't find him by sundown, I'm getting the Royal Guard involved, got it?"_

 _"*yeah, yeah, thanks, undyne." Sans waved lazily at her and shuffled out of her home._

 _As soon as Undyne had slammed the door behind him, Sans vanished with a quiet 'pop'._

 _He reappeared in Snowdin, after opting to search each part of the Underground individually, starting with his hometown. From there, he used the process of elimination and questioned shopkeepers and citizens about the possible whereabouts of his brother, until his searching brought him to the Inn._

The Innkeeper eyed Sans' small frame critically through narrowed eyes. "Yes, as a matter of fact." She replied shortly, her tone short and clipped. "He told me that a short skeleton in a blue hoodie and bedroom slippers might come in here and start asking questions. He asked me not to tell you what room he was staying in." She folded her arms and glared at Sans suspiciously.

Sans shut his eye sockets briefly and grimaced. _That_ hurt.

Sans shook his head and forced his wounded feelings down, refocusing on the task at hand. "*look, miss, i know that this looks bad, but we just had a little misunderstanding! i really need to speak with him, so if you could please direct me to his room-"

"Mr. Papyrus' request was very clear." The Innkeeper growled, enunciating each word slowly and deliberately. "I don't know what your situation is and frankly I am not interested in finding out. But for him to book a room at my inn at a quarter past three in the morning, shaking and on the verge of tears, and to ask me to keep his location a secret from someone that he took the time to describe at a _high degree of detail-"_ her ears flattened angrily against her head. "-whatever is happening must be pretty serious, and I am not about to put one of my clients into a potentially dangerous position. Now, if you don't leave right this instant, I will not hesitate to use force-"

"THERE WILL BE NO NEED FOR THAT."

The heads of both bunny and skeleton snapped around to stare at the source of the commanding voice.

Papyrus stood at the base of the stairs, looming at his full height and staring down at his brother with a cold expression. He gripped his suitcase in his left hand and his monster bank in his right. Tiny flecks of rapidly-melting snow clung to his scarf and shoulders, signifying that he had been outside very recently, and bruised bags hung at the bottoms of his hollow eye sockets.

"*papyrus!" Sans spluttered, snapping out of his shock. He stumbled forward and threw his arms around his little brother, hugging him as tightly as he could manage.

Papyrus remained frozen, his arms held stiffly at his sides.

"*oh, god, paps, i'm so sorry! i drank way more than i should have, and the way i acted was completely outta line! you musta been so scared last night! gods, I actually _hit_ you-" Sans' voice faltered. He met Papyrus' eyes and injected every ounce of sincerity he had into his next words. "*that will never happen again, paps, you got it? i _promise._ no more late-night drinking! i'm goin' cold turkey, from here on out!"

Papyrus made no movement for a long while, and Sans held his breath, apprehension building in his rib cage.

Finally, he felt it. A gloved hand reached out and gingerly pushed Sans away.

Sans swallowed nervously and slowly lifted his gaze to look his brother in the eye. His hands trembled, and he quickly stuffed them in his jacket pockets. "*bro...?"

Papyrus' voice rang out; clear, flat, and cold. "I DON'T BELIEVE YOU."

Sans' pupils constricted, and his nonexistent stomach dropped. "*wh-?"

"HOW CAN I BELIEVE YOU, SANS?" Papyrus continued. His voice was low and utterly emotionless; not at all like his usual exuberant shouting. "YOU'VE MADE PROMISES LIKE THIS TIME AND TIME AGAIN. TWO WEEKS AGO. A MONTH BEFORE THAT. THREE WEEKS BEFORE THAT." His voice hardened with anger, and his speech quickened as long-harbored frustration and pain wormed its way into his words. "YOU MAKE A PROMISE, YOU BREAK IT, YOU PARAPHRASE YOUR PROMISE UNTIL IT SUGGESTS SOMETHING NEW AND HOPEFUL AND YOU REGURGITATE IT BACK AT ME, EXPECTING ME TO ACCEPT IT WITH OPEN ARMS. AND UNTIL NOW, I HAVE, BECAUSE I WAS UNABLE TO SEE WHAT WAS REALLY HAPPENING. I WAS NAIVE."

Papyrus squeezed his eye sockets shut, seemingly disappointed in himself. He quickly opened them once more, his mask of fury refortified.

"BUT NO MORE. I'VE GIVEN YOU TOO MANY CHANCES, AND YOU'VE BURNED THROUGH YOUR LAST ONE. YOU HAVE LOST MY TRUST, SANS. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE DISAPPOINTED IN YOU."

Sans stared down at his feet. Papyrus' words resonated around in his skull until they melted together into a deafening cacophony, making Sans' SOUL ache until he thought it would shatter.

All of the protests he had prepared; all of the reassurances that he really meant what he said this time died in his throat.

His eye sockets, void of light, burned with tears. He blinked furiously to keep them at bay.

Papyrus didn't trust him. _Papyrus was disappointed in him._

Sans felt lower than dirt.

 **Papyrus' POV**

Papyrus stared long and hard at his brother's slouched figure for another moment, before turning his head to gaze at the Innkeeper.

He made an effort at sending her a smile, but if felt more like a grimace than anything. "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICES." He stated.

The Innkeeper nodded jerkily, her eyes wide as she stared at the massive skeleton.

Papyrus turned his back on his brother and the Innkeeper and marched outside into the snowy air, not bothering to look behind him when the familiar shuffling sound of his Sans' footsteps met his nonexistent ears.

Initially, he had thought that he would undoubtedly lose his nerve when Sans apologized- Sans' apologies always sounded sincere and heartfelt- but on the contrary, the apology only fueled his anger.

As soon as Sans dropped the "I promise", Papyrus had felt his SOUL harden in a way it never had before, and Flowey's words were the first things that came to his mind.

 _"What kind of brother breaks his promises repeatedly when he knows how important they are to you?"_

 _"He's burned through every chance that you've given him to stop drinking, and breaks promise after promise."_

 _"And he never bothers to change? Even after all of the chances you've given him? Even if his current lifestyle is hurting you, his dear brother?"_

Papyrus had stared directly into Sans' pleading, guilt-ridden eye sockets, searching for sincerity and truth, but all he could see and all he could hear were the promises Sans had made and broken for months leading up to where they were now.

A dull, lingering anger resided in his chest. He kept his glare fixed straight ahead.

Papyrus twisted the doorknob and pushed their front door open. He dusted the snow from his boots onto the welcome mat, before stepping into the warmth of his home.

He fully expected Sans to forgo this essential practice and instead track snow all through the house, leaving his brother to clean up the mess, as usual.

It came as a pleasant surprise when Sans froze at the doorway and pattered his feet furiously against the ground, as if his life depended on removing every single speck of snow from his slippers.

Papyrus watched as Sans glanced up at his brother, as if he was silently searching for his approval, and the taller skeleton felt a satisfied grin tug at his teeth.

He made a mental note to pay Flowey a visit later. He owed him a thank-you.


End file.
